Following a long hiatus, the Google Assistant has made a triumphant return to Fossil’s Wear OS smartwatches. The AI-powered assistant is back on Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches as part of a significant Wear OS 3 update, according to a recent announcement by the company.
Last year, Google’s decision to remove Assistant from the Wear OS 3 ecosystem, including Fossil’s smartwatches, led to considerable disappointment among users. The decision saw a few smartwatches, including the Fossil Gen 6, TicWatch Pro 5, and Montblanc Summit 3, left without the Assistant, while the feature continued to be supported only on Pixel Watch and Samsung’s Wear OS-based Galaxy Watch models. However, Google has now expanded Assistant support to Fossil’s devices, which comes as good news to smartwatch enthusiasts.
The latest update allows users to interact with Google Assistant directly from their Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches. Users can now use the Assistant to ask questions, play music, respond to texts, control smart home devices, and more, making it a significant upgrade from the previous version used on Wear OS 2.
The update rolled out this week allows users to set up their preferred methods to access Google Assistant: pressing and holding down the upper button, tapping a corresponding complication on the watch face, or saying “Hey Google” to get started. Once set up, users can access both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa via their preferred shortcuts, offering more customization options to manage their home and life from a single device.
Fossil Group, which includes brands like Michael Kors, Diesel, Skagen, and Fossil, is now rolling out Google Assistant for Gen 6 devices powered with Wear OS 3. However, it’s worth noting that Google Assistant is only supported on watches paired with Android phones, excluding the Go edition and phones without Google Play Store, in supported countries.
The Fossil Smartwatches app’s latest patch notes list v5.1.6 as the update that reintroduces Google Assistant for Wear OS 3 devices. The system update, build RFHC.230409.014, is seen alongside the app update.
For those who own a Fossil Gen 6 or the Gen 6 Wellness, it’s time to check for updates. An update for the Fossil Smartwatches app should be available in Google Play, and the system update for the watch can be grabbed using the “oldest tapping trick in the book” to force a pull of it.
This expansion of Google Assistant support is a positive sign for the future of the Wear OS 3 ecosystem. With Google Assistant now available on Fossil’s smartwatches, it’s hoped that it will soon make its way to the rest of the Wear OS 3 ecosystem.